Detroit Lions — 2026 season outlook, updated Oct 14, 2026.
Detroit Lions finished the 2026 season 3-2.
Detroit Lions: 9-8 regular season.
Based on verified play-by-play data (nflverse).
By the numbers — 2026
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2026 schedule
- Bye week 6 — see all 2026 byes.
- 32nd-hardest schedule — opponents average 7.79 projected wins.
- Lions backfield and handcuffs — depth chart, refreshed daily.
Lions players we cover
Lions 45, Cardinals 21 — Week 5: Four for Four on Fourth Down
Detroit won 45-21 at Arizona by converting all four of its fourth downs, three for touchdowns, while Jared Goff threw three touchdowns on 30 attempts and Jahmyr Gibbs ran 25 times for 151 yards; the pass defense sacked Jacoby Brissett five times and allowed +0.10 expected points a play, against +0.26 through Week 4.
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More episodes
- Camp · Sep 3, 2026
Lions Camp — Sep 3: Pacheco to Injured Reserve
Isiah Pacheco went on injured reserve Tuesday — knee and back, out at least four games, no timeline from Brad Holmes — and the corresponding move brought Tyler Conklin back to the 53 two days after Detroit cut him. Then Jabari Small and Seth McLaughlin were waived Wednesday, leaving the Lions at 51 with two open spots. Detroit was awarded nobody and lost nobody on waivers.
- Camp · Aug 31, 2026
Lions Camp — Aug 31: Joseph and Branch Out Until Week 5
Detroit set its 53 and put both starting safeties on the reserve/physically-unable-to-perform list doing it: Kerby Joseph (knee) and Brian Branch (a reported torn Achilles) cannot play before Week 5. The roster came in at two quarterbacks and four receivers per the team's website, Josh Dobbs won the backup job with a clean finale, and Dan Campbell revealed Isiah Pacheco has been managing an MCL sprain and a back injury with Week 1 uncertain. Sam LaPorta, at least, is back at practice and on track for the Saints.
- Camp · Aug 23, 2026
Lions Camp — Aug 23: Sheppard's Defense Smothers Washington
Detroit's first-team defense held Washington to 35 rushing yards and nine first downs in a 17-13 win — with Jayden Daniels on the field — while D.J. Reed returned, Derrick Moore came back with a strip-sack, and the rookies kept stacking plays. The quarterbacking behind Jared Goff was the wobble, and both starting safeties still haven't practiced with cut day a week out.
- Camp · Aug 16, 2026
Detroit Lions Camp Update — August 16: Kerby Joseph Is on the Branch Plan Now
Kerby Joseph is on the Branch plan now — Campbell grouped both safeties as "down the road" Tuesday, and his own late-camp marker for Branch is trending toward a miss. Detroit also lost a backup-heavy opener in Cincinnati where Ahmed Hassanein was the best player on the field. The September fragility case keeps writing itself.
- Camp · Aug 9, 2026
Detroit Lions Camp Update — August 9: Kerby Joseph Still Hasn't Practiced
Both starting safeties opened camp on PUP, and the coach's news split cleanly: Brian Branch might practice by late camp, Kerby Joseph's knee has no timeline at all. Sam LaPorta is fully cleared. The September-roster question from July is being answered in public, one press conference at a time.
- 2026 Preview
Detroit Lions 2026 Season Preview — The 481-Point Miss
Detroit scored the fourth-most points in football and missed the playoffs — the market has fully priced the bounce-back, but it's paying February prices for a secondary that might not exist until Thanksgiving.
- Season Review
9-8 regular season
- Draft Recap
7 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft
- Week 4
Lions 26, Panthers 32 — Week 4: Fourteen Red-Zone Snaps, Two Scores
Detroit lost 32-26 at Carolina after 14 snaps inside the Carolina 20 produced two touchdowns, four Bates field goals made up the rest, and two of its last three drives ended on downs; its pass defense allowed plus 20.5 expected points on 44 Carolina pass plays, against a weeks 1-3 rate worth about plus 8.
- Week 3
Lions 31, Jets 24 — Week 3: Forty-Nine Yards After the Tie
Detroit beat the Jets 31-24 at home, answering a 24-24 tie with a 49-yard completion on the next snap and an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jahmyr Gibbs with 2:30 left, as a run defense that was the worst per play of any team-game in Week 2 held the Jets to 58 yards on 19 rush plays.
- Week 2
Lions 31, Bills 41 — Week 2: Nine of Eleven on Third Down
Detroit lost 41-31 at Buffalo on Thursday night after allowing touchdowns on six of nine Bills drives and nine of eleven third-down conversions, running 20 times for 66 yards, and throwing for 327 yards and four touchdowns in a game it never led.
- Week 1
Lions 31, Saints 30 — Week 1: Up 21-0, Then a Two-Point Try to Survive
Detroit led New Orleans twenty-one to nothing with nine minutes left in the third quarter at Ford Field, then allowed three hundred twenty-five passing yards after halftime and needed overtime. Jared Goff hit Jameson Williams for twenty-two and Amon-Ra St. Brown for the touchdown, the Saints answered, and Tyler Shough's two-point pass fell incomplete with one thirty-four left. Five sacks and three takeaways on one side of the ledger; four hundred ten passing yards allowed on the other.
- Week 3 · What Repeats
Lions, Week 3 — What Repeats: Fewer Rushers, Five Sacks
Detroit sent five or more pass rushers on 9 of Geno Smith's 44 dropbacks, 20 percent after 55 in Buffalo, and sacked him 5 times anyway, 4 of them with four rushers, while stacking seven or more in the box on 15 of the Jets' 17 designed runs and holding them to 2.7 a carry; on offense Jared Goff completed all 15 throws he made against five or more rushers.
- Week 2 · What Repeats
Lions, Week 2 — What Repeats: All Four Sacks Charted on Goff
The charting from Buffalo put all 4 sacks of Jared Goff down as quarterback-fault sacks, after 12 on 619 dropbacks all of 2025 and none in Week 1, while his contested-throw rate (6 of 38) stayed above double last season's for a second week and the defense sent five or more rushers on 55% of dropbacks, second-highest in the league, and still allowed 5.6 yards per designed run.
- Week 1 · What Repeats
Lions, Week 1 — What Repeats: More Play-Action, Less Payoff
The charting says Detroit ran play-action on 34% of dropbacks against the Saints, seventh-highest in the league and up from 25.5% across 2025, and Jared Goff's 14 play-action throws produced seven completions for 48 yards. Goff's 79.5% catchable rate was sixth in the league; the defense sent five or more rushers on 35% of dropbacks, tenth-highest, and allowed 410 passing yards.
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